Emily Maitlis ‘concerned’ for Prince Andrew after ‘fallout with his family’
Emily Maitlis has admitted she was “concerned” for Prince Andrew after the “fallout with his family”.
Maitlis has reflected on her car crash interview with the Duke of York in 2019, just one day before a new series is set to drop on Amazon Prime.
A Very Royal Scandal, executively produced by Maitlis, will cover the lead-up to the interview and examine the public reaction, starring Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew.
Speaking ahead of the new series, Maitlis said: “I do worry about the fallout from it.”
Emily Maitlis ‘concerned’ for Prince Andrew after ‘fallout with his family’PA
She continued to tell Good Morning Britain: “There was fallout for his family.
“I feel concern for him as I do for anyone that has had a drop in status. But I don’t regret the interview.”
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are a very close-knit unit.
Beatrice, 36, even accompanied her father to negotiations with the Newsnight team ahead of the interview.
Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis photographed together in 2019 at Buckingham PalaceBBC
Writing in Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister said: “Suddenly, [Prince Andrew] appeared, from around the corner of the short corridor: ‘Morning!’
“His voice was upbeat. He was smiling. He seemed friendly.
“‘I hope you don’t mind, but I brought someone with me!’ This was not something that any of us had expected to hear.
“We exchanged glances. Who could it be? A lawyer? Someone else in communications? Maybe someone from the Queen’s staff?
Prince Andrew stepped down as a working member of the Royal Family in 2019PA
“And then, from behind him, Princess Beatrice appeared.”
She continued: “To be frank, the only thing worse than speaking to a prospective interviewee about allegations of sexual impropriety, paedophilia and sex with a seventeen-year-old girl is having to do so in front of his daughter.
“Princess Beatrice was polite and engaged, carrying a notebook and pen, but she was evidently anxious about the meeting, unlike her father.
Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen playing Maitlis and Andrew in A Very Royal ScandalAmazon Prime“The atmosphere palpably changed for us all.”
McAlister added: “Princess Beatrice was a total curveball. I had heard she was close to the Queen, who might well ask for her opinion on the meeting, and also knew that she was very close to her father and was clearly there to protect his interests and to ensure that we were the right people to speak to.
“The Prince’s eldest daughter was now, in my opinion, the person who could make the difference between us getting the interview and someone else.”
